What Others See

What Others See

Have you ever been motivated to make a change in your life because of something someone said about you? Others’ impression of you and who you are can be really motivating – or discouraging.

For example, I have a person in my life who, in most ways, is incredibly supportive. This person is also incredibly honest. Sounds like a good thing, right? Usually, it is, and I’m grateful. I really appreciate the no bullshit approach – most of the time. Then there are times when a little bit of sugar-coating sounds pretty good.

Wonderfully vague, right? What it comes down to is that my goal is to become a badass through taking care of myself, developing physical strength and self-confidence, inspiring people, and being the best me that I can be. This person, however, has a different idea of what it means to be a badass. And I’m not it.

Not gonna lie, this was (and sometimes still is) tough to hear. But what I’ve been trying to keep in mind is that I know what being a badass means to me, and I believe that every day I commit to it, the closer I am to being the badass that I want to be. To this other person, being a badass basically means pushing through and tolerating pain, and if you are in pain, you don’t admit it. It means taking a punch and showing zero weakness.

So though I disagree with this person’s perspective, it’s still tough to want to define myself in a particular way, and know that this person who means so much to me thinks something entirely different.

Instead, I remind myself that though this person has a different way to describe who I am and what I’m trying to accomplish, they still think the world of me and love and appreciate who I am and what I’m about. In the end, as long as the respect is there, getting hung up on a word just seems silly.

And, in a weird way, this difference in perspective is pretty motivating. Kind of like, I’m not a badass? I’ll show you…